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by jan.rover
Summary: A SEQUEL to Truce. Hotaru Imai had just been granted a ticket home, and if not because of Mikan's chicken pox, he wouldn't have been her chaperone in the first place. RukaRu fanfic..R&R guys! :D
1. Chapter 1

**Home**

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><p>AN: Hey, there! I'm back with my new RukaRuk fanfic, and I have to say...this one is the longest G.A. fanfiction I've ever managed to write and upload. And I hope you'll like it!

So...here it is then! :D

P.S. Thanks for even bothering.

Enjoy! :]

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><p>Chapter 1: <strong>Board work distractions, Happy Baka Gun moments, and Chicken Pox<strong>

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><p><em>"Calling Ms. Hotaru Imai of High School department, please proceed to the director immediately." <em>

The message repeated for a couple of times before she met the distracted teacher's eyes. A few curious ones darted to her direction as she thought for a second, fixed her things, and with a nod from the teacher-in-charge, went out of the classroom.

It didn't cause so much fuss, though; they were all kind of used to announcements like that—especially when it's Hotaru Imai. They usually meant that she'd have a visitor of some sort—either possible investors for her inventions, or suitors that were obviously going to be rejected. Not that she'd actually blab about any of those things; it's just isn't easy not to know them—words spread so fast.

Ruka Nogi was staring at the door for quite a while now and only looked away in shock upon earning a good elbow from his bestfriend beside him. "Oh, uhm…w-what?" He stuttered, his cheeks slowly turning pink as he met the Black Cat's dissecting eyes. Natsume smirked, and jerked his head towards the now pissed teacher. The blond felt like shrinking even more at the sight of the whole class' curious, perceptive smirks.

"As I was saying, Mr. Nogi, before you got pretty much distracted by Hotaru Imai's exit...", the teacher said in gritted teeth, obviously trying to lengthen his patience. "Would you mind answering the first problem on the board?"

Clearing his throat, he glanced back down to his book and went to the board, trying his best to ignore the eyes boring down on his back. He shrugged off fragments of his recent thoughts and concentrated on his work—which was supposed to be pretty easy if not because of the distracting giggles from his fangirls and Koko's irritating snickers.

_Note to self, _he thought irritably as he boxed his answer on the board, _Try to make this mind-reader's life a little miserable. _That's pretty much out-of-character, but who can blame him? Koko knows just too much by simply reading Ruka Nogi's thoughts—and that's really something he should get worried about.

"Well, done." The teacher clapped his hands once as Ruka put the marker on the table. He was feeling a little proud of himself, for being able to concentrate for a while, but it didn't take him long to drift back to embarrassment as the teacher smirked at the class. "I guess Ms. Imai's not a distraction after all."

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><p>"Isn't it supposed to be a week long?" She asked, managing to be convincingly calm even in the surging emotions deep inside her.<p>

"No, that privilege is for the Best Student Award." the high school director paused, and she didn't bother ask who's that award for. "You'll be given just one day. However, Ms. Imai…" the man said, taking off his reading glasses and looking up to the brilliant student in front of him. "Unlike previous cases of this incentive, you ought to bring with you a fellow classmate of yours."

Hotaru Imai blinked, almost lost in the engulfing happiness she was feeling deep down that her façade almost gave in. "A chaperone?"

The director chuckled, finding her expression quite amusing—considering how her face didn't actually bear any emotion. "Apparently, yes." He replied and glanced at his pocket watch as if sending off a quiet message that he'd have plenty more things to do other than conversing with a high school student. "For the purpose of…ah, "He smiled at her in a rather convincing, grandfather-ish way. "…a reminder—that you have plenty of reasons to come back here."

And as if on cue, the secretary went in the office and ushered her out. Under normal circumstances she would've found it a little rude, but she got used to how the Academy works; and she was just too…happy, to care about anything.

When she reached the corridors, it was quiet—classes were still on. Doing her best to control herself but just couldn't help it, she allowed herself a smile.

She's going home.

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><p>Mikan screamed. —BAKA! BAKA! BAKA! BAKA! BAKA! — But she was just too happy to feel the pain, you know. "Oh, Hotaru!" She wailed and threw herself to her bestfriend— BAKA! BAKA! — "I'm soooo happy for you!" —BAKA! BAKA! BAKA! BAKA! BAKA!<p>

But the Ice Queen was so happy, too, and feeling less like herself because of this, she allowed her bestfriend the hug. "I'd better get disinfected." She mumbled as Mikan squeezed her in a tight embrace. "Your breath stinks, you know."

Mikan pulled away a few inches, her arms still around her bestfriend, and asked: "When is this going to happen?"

"Four days from now."

"Really?" —BAKA! BAKA! BAKA! BAKA! BAKA! "Ouch, Hey! Hotaru!"

"You really should stop yelling at my face, idiot."

Mikan wiped the happy tears on her face with both hands and took a step back. "I'm just so happy!"

Hotaru rolled her eyes, but there was an unmistakable smirk playing on her lips as she kept her gun away. "And by the way, ", she said and glancing back to the brunette before walking from her working desk to the open window of her three-star room. "You're coming with me."

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><p>It took her twenty-four hours—from the moment the director told her—to tell Mikan about the news. And prior to Mikan's screaming and infectious hugs, another twenty-four hours had already passed; and now she wondered, as she quietly walked to class, how many people learned about it.<p>

Not that Mikan would actually tell everybody about it. It's just that, she perfectly knew that it was just a matter of time before her bestfriend could keep the news from her special guy. So Natsume Hyuuga ought to know about it by now. _And considering that, _she thought to herself as she opened the door and stepped into the classroom, _by now Bunny Boy knows about it, too. _

And as if on cue, her eyes darted across the room and met the enticing, blue orbs that suddenly went huge upon seeing her. She raised her eyebrows and looked away, casually walking to her seat. Strange how she didn't feel tempted to blackmail him this morning. She usually had this annoying urge not to leave him in peace; but now she just felt like ignoring him—as well as the erupting giddy feeling she started to have since a couple of months back, which she didn't want to get accustomed to since it would mean she'd start to squeal like a fan girl whenever Bunny Boy walks pass her.

Her eyebrows twitched—she really should stop reading those stupid Vampire books. They seriously confuse her with their human-mythical creature tandems that were obviously messing up with the readers' thoughts towards reality.

Like now, for example, when she kind of felt that it was Bunny Boy's eyes that's boring down on her back and that any time now he'd walk towards her and ask where Mikan is.

.

..

…

See? Those books ought to cause daydreaming, too!

She sighed and opened her textbook, and apparently found herself staring at it. Glancing at her watch, she looked around her. Mikan's indeed supposed to be here by now.

Then the school bell rang.

But Mikan didn't come, and that worried her a bit because her bestfriend hardly misses any classes even though her boyfriend's kind of a delinquent child but still a genius even without studying. However, that didn't stop Hotaru to stay in full concentration—especially when she's fully aware that at any moment her name's going to be called.

"Okay." Jinno-sensei clapped his hand once and scanned the class for a volunteer—which, most of the time, means that he'd pick a lucky student for a surprise board work. Apparently spotting the Ice Queen absent-mindedly twirling her pen on her fingers, the Calculus teacher raised an eyebrow. "Miss Imai."

Ruka almost jumped upon hearing the name. Not that he'd already changed his family name—'cause that's for women after marriage, and not for men— it's just that he couldn't get rid of that developed impulse when it's her.

Unlike him, Hotaru wasn't daydreaming—or if she was, she immediately managed to turn her attention back to sir Jinno, and went to the board. Of course, that's another chance for him to stare.

It's been a couple of months since her mom died, and he's sort of happy that she's better now. And whenever he thinks about that, he couldn't help but feel a little proud of himself for kind of…causing that. Boy, he did make her cry, didn't he?

_Wow_, he thought, his brows furrowed, _I didn't know it could sound as bad as that._

He didn't _actually_ make her cry like…being the cause of it. It was more like…he figured that she needed to cry so she'd feel better. Yes, that was it.

The thing is, since that night he held her close as she cried, he never looked at her the same way before; and by the way their eyes would meet, he knew a few things did change. And when he'd say things, it meant in plural form—literally—and there's just too many.

But to give us some insight, it more like…back then, when he'd look her way, she'd only appear to be another shade in the background—a deeper shade, that is, but still noticeable. Now, he couldn't see the background—just her. Things like that.

Cheesy as it is, there's nothing he could do about it. He's no fan of those love stories or Vampire books some of his fan girls drool about while imagining him as the main, hot, vampire; and he could only care less about the cheesy lines they throw at him.

_Come to think of it, _he smirked and crossed his arms on his desk as he tried concentrating on Hotaru Imai's solution on the board instead of Hotaru Imai herself, _if things did change, trying those cheesy lines on the Ice Queen might no longer equate disaster! Might as well try?_

"Good." Jinno-sensei said and took the marker from Hotaru after she boxed her answer and faced the class, accidentally meeting his eyes again.

Her purple orbs bore down on him, and even in a few seconds of a staring match, Ruka gulped and looked away, feeling the unmistakable gush of blood to paint his cheeks. _No, definitely not._

Hotaru was pretty much aware of that, the staring; and her own face did feel a bit like on fire as she went back to her seat. And she figured, it was a little difficult to handle alone—with no babbling mouth beside her for a distraction.

The day went on and Mikan didn't show up; and it was only later that day when Hotaru noticed that the Black Cat wasn't present either. _Oh, maybe it's 'quality time' day_, she thought to herself as she walked out of the classroom after the last period.

Alone and thinking, she stopped herself on her way to her room. _Or maybe the idiot's sick._

Chiding herself for not figuring this out earlier that day, she turned her heels and dashed towards the school clinic.

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><p>"What're you doing here?"<p>

Ruka couldn't help but stare at her as she glared at him. "Uh…"

She was walking alone in the corridor on her way to the clinic when upon turning to the last corner, she saw him—of all people—waiting outside.

"You better have a good answer, Bunny Boy." She said and raised an eyebrow at him. No, there was no way she'd have him distract her again. Not because he'd seen the Ice Queen in her worst state and practically held her in his gorgeous arms while she…well, cried in grief of her mom's death two months ago, didn't mean that he'd have all the right to get her distracted. He better leave now.

"I-I, uh…" He started, then shook his head as if shrugging off thoughts, and cleared his throat before looking back at her. "I was going to check if Natsume's here."

Fighting off edging, useless, giddy feelings, she muttered, for lack of anything to say: "Really, now?" not really waiting for an answer.

Ruka was about to protest at her irritating skepticism when the door suddenly opened. They both turned to look.

"N-natsume…" The blond blurted out as the black-haired guy looked at them both.

The Black Cat gave Hotaru the double take before looking back to his bestfriend, who was apparently too red he'd make a ripe tomato rot in shame. "Ruka."

Silence, then Hotaru rolled her eyes. "You kidnapped Mikan the whole day."

Natsume turned his scarlet orbs to the Ice Queen, who wasn't the least threatened by the guy's piercing eyes. "I didn't kidnap her. She's confined."

Hotaru didn't flinch. "What, confined."

"Chicken pox."

She was pretty sure she saw Ruka gulp upon hearing that. _So Bunny boy still didn't get chicken pox._

"She wanted to talk to you." Natsume cut her thoughts.

By the way the taller guy looked at her made her feel like there's something else. Thinking to herself, pushing her mind to figure it out, nothing hit her.

"Uh…" Ruka cut in, feeling compelled to break the heated glaring match going on between the two. "S-so she can't have visitors?"

Hotaru thought about snapping at the blond, to try to shut him up. She's clearly not in the mood to deal with him right now. Stepping forward, she reached for the door.

Mikan was inside, sluggishly doodling on her notebook. And when she saw her bestfriend by the door, her eyes pooled.

"I'm sorry!" She whimpered, putting her hands together and bowed her head apologetically.

Hotaru blinked and stopped at the foot of Mikan's bed. "I thought you already had chicken pox."

Mikan peeked from her raised hands. "No. Those were measles."

"Oh."

"I'm sorry, Hotaru!" The brunette wailed again. "I'm really, really, sorry! I-I really didn't know I'd get this. I-If only—"

"I seriously can't hit you now." Hotaru muttered, itching so much to reach for her Baka Gun. "So what the hell are you talking about?"

Mikan paused, and met her bestfriend's eyes. "You're going home, two days from now…" She sniffed and buried her face on her hands again. "And with _this_ going on, I can't be your chaperone!"

It took her awhile to absorb that. Of course, how could she have missed it? Without a chaperone, her trip home would be forfeited…

When it finally hit her, it was unlike anything she felt—not exactly painful, but disturbing and haunting at the same time. Crossing her arms against her chest, she stared at her bestfriend.

"I'm really sorry, Hotaru." Mikan mumbled, and reluctantly met Hotaru's eyes again.

She nodded and let out a shaky breath quietly. "I'll talk to the director—"

"But, Hotaru!"

The Ice Queen raised an eyebrow at the brunette, daring her to suggest a solution. Her pox won't just disappear overnight; and if she'd insist for Mikan as a chaperone, then she'd better throw the chance altogether.

"W-well…" Mikan started, weighing her words carefully. "S-since I won't be able to make it, how about looking for another chaperone?"

Another eyebrow rose.

"You can't just throw the towel!"

Hotaru rolled her eyes and walked to the window. "And I believe you have someone in mind?"

"Of course, Hotaru!"

The Ice Queen looked back at her bestfriend, challenging her wits. And when Mikan replied, she instead found herself dumbfounded.

"Ruka-pyon."

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><p>AN: Well, it's done! I hope you liked it! Please, don't forget to review. It would really mean a lot, you know.

Chapter 2 is up, so...ja! :D


	2. Chapter 2

**Home**

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><p>AN: Yey! Here's chapter 2..! I hope you'll like it! :D

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><p>Chapter 2: <strong>The new chaperone<strong>

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><p>The following day went in a blur. Morning came and went, and it was so boring not having Mikan to throw herself and get injured by her. It was even too quiet without the brunette's babbling mouth.<p>

It was P.E. class in the afternoon, and even then, she didn't feel like moving. Right now, Mkan's suggestion just won't leave her alone.

"Nogi!"

Oh, how she wanted to deny that she didn't snap her neck of upon hearing that name. Casually sipping her drink under the shade of the tree, she risked herself for a dangerous look and watched the blond walk up to their P.E. teacher.

Ignoring the disturbing squeals around her, Hotaru watched Ruka stretch his arms in front of him, nodded as their teacher gave him final instructions, and proceeded with the act. She found herself biting onto her straw as he started to run, gaining momentum, then gracefully lifted his body up horizontally to cross the five feet high jump bar. Even his landing on the soft cushion below the bars looked impossibly graceful.

Was it her imagination working on her that she actually thought Ruka Nogi might have descended from a Vampire family? Or was he just…naturally gorgeous?

Hotaru blinked and felt the urge to hit herself—there was no way she's ever going to admit she'd thought about that.

There were scattered claps and cheers as the blond guy rose to his feet and walked away to the shade, giving his bestfriend the high five; and Hotaru didn't miss the flush on his face that was certainly wasn't caused by the heat of the sun.

It was Natsume Hyuuga's turn—apparently just as many squeals were heard—but she didn't even give a second thought about staring. Sure, the Black Cat's always ahead of his blond bestfriend, but who cares?

Natsume landed almost as gracefully as Ruka, but by the way their P.E. teacher nodded and the crowd cheered, it was obvious that he did better than his bestfriend. Hotaru shrugged. Well, it seemed like she's the only one who doesn't care.

Thinking about Mikan, she tried to bring herself to consider her bestfriend's suggestion.

"_Ruka-pyon." _–she remembered herself almost snickering as Mikan said that. But Mikan just rolled her eyes at her bestfriend and continued, _"Think about it, Hotaru! I just can't leave you going anywhere with just anyone!"_

Hotaru blinked and examined the blond guy across the field. The sun's heat made his already radiant skin look more glowing and his blond hair—though a few strands stuck on his forehead—looked so soft and smooth even from afar. His eyes, with the bright light, seemed to sparkle beautifully—even when they moved to meet hers. They widened for a moment as he realized she'd been watching at him, then returned to normal when Hotaru blinked and looked away, apparently not showing any sign of interest.

Her pulse was pounding when she broke the stare, and she felt a little more annoyed when Mikan's voice echoed in her mind again—_"Don't even tell me he's not qualified, Hotaru!"_

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><p>"Uhm…A-are you gonna t-talk now? 'C-cause you're really starting t-to freak me out…"<p>

Hotaru quietly sighed and met his eyes again while she crossed her arms against her chest. She's been staring at him for a good minute now, and no matter how hard she tried not to, she just couldn't help but do so. And Ruka had no choice but to wait, apparently melting under her stare.

"Fine." Hotaru finally said. "Here's the deal, Bunny Boy." She paused and watched him again.

"W-what are you talking about?" He muttered, instinctively taking a step back. He didn't get her blackmails for a few days now, and looking back, she didn't torture him like she said she would after the incident two months ago. He gulped—_this_ suddenly made him feel like running for his life.

"I'm going home." Hotaru mumbled, still debating on whether she should really go for this. "And since Mikan's sick, _you_—"Ruka blinked, his face reddening. "…are coming with me."

Silence. Ruka gaped at her, and then closed his mouth as he furrowed his brows in confusion. "Uh…A-are y-you sick? O-or—" BAKA! BAKA! BAKA! BAKA! BAKA! "Hey!"

Hotaru lowered her Baka Gun and opened her mouth to speak, then closed it again. They glared at each other for a moment, and then she hit him again.

BAKA! BAKA! BAKA! BAKA! BAKA!

"Ow—hey! What was that for?"

"You're hentai bestfriend didn't tell you?"

Ruka frowned. "Tell me what?"

Hotaru paused, then shook her head, muttering to herself as she started to turn her heels to go. "Now _this_ is embarrassing."

"Whoah, there, Ice Queen!" Ruka practically grabbed her elbow. "You called me here just to test your Baka Gun?"

Hotaru faced him again, her glares a lot sharper now; and by the way she glanced at his big hand holding her arm, it didn't take him a minute to let go. "Pretty much." She muttered, and when Ruka was about to retort, she continued. "Now, listen, Bunny Boy, 'cause I don't want you asking questions afterwards."

He really needed great effort to stay in tuned as she talked—'cause Hotaru Imai never really talks to him like…this long—and he found himself closing his mouth a few times as he listened.

But he did get the point, though—she was asking him to be her chaperone. Although she didn't sound like she was _asking _him because of some inappropriate words like "torture you 'till you rot" and "pound you in pieces so you're animal friends would plot for revenge and I won't care"; and hearing those lines made him think that maybe she's getting too much from Sue Sylvester.

But however harsh Hotaru could be, Ruka knew it took her everything to come to him.

_To him._ He felt a tugging smile on his lips upon thinking about that, but smiling in front of her would really be painful—literally.

He knew it was difficult for her—to even consider somebody else except her bestfriend—and he figured, he really shouldn't be making it more difficult for her. He knew, above anyone else knew, that since that incident two months ago, Hotaru needs to go home.

"Okay."

Hotaru felt the urge to hit him hard as he cut her in the middle of a threatening sentence. She raised an eyebrow at him. "Okay?"

Ruka nodded and casually pushed his hands on his pockets. "I'll come with you."

Either because of the way this guy looked at her when he agreed, or because he agreed at all, Hotaru felt like smiling in relief. But she just raised another eyebrow at him. She just couldn't believe it.

Ruka chuckled, managing to break the tension. "Hey, it's alright. I'll be good." He smiled and held out his hand, not really waiting for her to take it. "I'm your new chaperone."

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><p>There were still a few stars in the bluish-black sky when Hotaru met Ruka by the Academy's main entrance. This part of the school seemed so foreign, especially the thought of passing those gates after so many years.<p>

"Ready?" Ruka smiled and stood beside her as they waited for the staff to get the ride ready.

The truth was, she wasn't really ready. Hyped, yes; but she was just too nervous to consider herself ready. Pulling her hoodie closer to her body, she crossed her arms as the chilly wind blew on her face. The dawn was breaking, and if she'd want to squeeze every minute of the day, they really needed to go now.

When the sleek black car arrived and stopped in front of them, Ruka swung his backpack on his shoulder and casually opened the door for her. He didn't even blush, she noticed, but right now she was starting to feel the reality of her trip already, and she could only care less whether Ruka Nogi blushed or not. She didn't even care if they sat side by side.

But he did care, though. He cared why the Academy didn't provide them the spacious limousine and they should squeeze themselves in this backseat instead. He even cared why he couldn't even conceal his erupting blush. But above all else, he cared about trying to stay awake because he might just give this girl beside him the chance for another batch of blackmail pictures.

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><p>AN: phew! It's done! hahahah!

Stand by for chapter3, it's up! Please review... :D


	3. Chapter 3

**Home**

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><p>AN: I really don't want to cause the lagging, so...here it is! :D

R&R alright?

:)

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><p>Chapter 3: <strong>Jet lag, other mischief, and Ice Cream<strong>

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><p>"I can't believe they're not coming with us." Ruka Nogi shook his head, still looking at the dusty trail of the sleek, black, car. "They like…abandoned us."<p>

Hotaru was wondering about that, too; how the Academy allowed her to go home without the S.O.P bodyguards. Right now, if she wanted to, she could just run away…Well, apparently with a very cute tag-along.

"I don't think so." Hotaru muttered, deciding against how the circumstance appeared to be. "The Academy might look like they're slacking, when in fact they've probably attached some microscopic camera behind your ear, or slipped an inconspicuous electronic device into your back pocket that would zap you with 220 Volts if you'd dare run away."

Ruka gaped at the Ice Queen, his hand unconsciously slowly groping to the back of his ear. "Y-you're n-not…" he mumbled and frowned upon noticing nothing was attached or secretly slipped behind his ear. "H-how can you be so sure?"

Hotaru slipped her bag to her shoulder and casually looked around, trying to conceal a smirk playing on her lips. "I happen to work that way, Bunny Boy."

Ruka muttered something under her breath about being how a day with the Ice Queen could not end in a disaster. It took him a while to calm down a little from worrying about the possibility of microscopic cameras probably televising everything that's happening now.

The men-in-black of the Academy dropped them off in the main city—not the G.A. Central town, but the _real _downtown. And they ought to get back here before midnight. Failure to do that…maybe the Academy won't actually leave them alone—they'd probably get treated as fugitives if that happens. Besides, running away with the Ice Queen was still something he should drop.

Though it was still early in the morning, the streets were already starting to get busy. Looking around the unfamiliar place, he thought that he really should be nice to this girl beside him or she'd get the very bad idea of leaving him behind. And he hated getting lost.

"So…" he mumbled, looking around him. "Where are we supposed to go now?"

"Train station…" Hotaru muttered and pulled her bag closer. "I guess."

Ruka narrowed his eyes when he looked at her. "Please tell me that you know what you're doing. I really don't want to get lost, you know."

The Ice Queen couldn't help but shake her head and smirk at the taller guy. "Do you doubt me, Bunny Boy?"

He flushed. Gulping back his lame retort, he shrugged and looked away. "Go. Lead the way, Ice Queen."

Turning her heels, Hotaru started walking. "Let's go."

"Where?"

"The train station, idiot." She muttered, not slowing down. "If the schedule's still the same, the train to our town ought to leave in fifteen minutes."

_Fifteen minutes?_ He thought to himself, keeping up to her pace in just a few strides. "And we'll just walk."

"Yes." Hotaru replied, pausing for a moment when red light flashed across the street. "It's only a few blocks from here. Traffic can slow us down."

Ruka was about to say something when the red light turned off and was replaced by the signal that it was okay now to walk. She stepped forward, not wasting any minute, and he was about to follow when he saw a motorcycle speeding up, trying to beat the red light and make it to the bend where they were standing.

And Hotaru was clearly on the way.

He never thought he had enough time to do it, even if he'd noticed the danger a little earlier than he did. But by pure adrenaline alone, he took a step forward and reached for her arm with all his strength, pulling her roughly back to him just in time when the motorcycle made its turn on the bend.

She had no idea what happened. Her heart was beating fast, but she kind of doubted it was because of other reasons besides the fact that Bunny boy was holding her close again. _Again._

The echoing sound of police siren brought her back to her senses. Taking a deep breath, she looked up to his face, which was a little distorted as he watched her in slight wonder.

"Hey." He breathed. "Are you alright?"

She nodded, feeling the slight impulse to hit him—for no particular reason at all—then looked at the slight commotion ahead of them.

Ruka sighed in relief, and gently let her go while ushering her slightly away from the edge of the street. "That motorcycle just came up speeding towards the bend." He told her, gesturing to the police scene a few yards away from them. "Well…that was close."

Hotaru looked back at his savior—wow, she had no idea it could sound as cheesy as that—and sighed. "Thanks."

Feeling the sudden weight of the moment, Ruka chuckled sheepishly and shrugged. "You're welcome."

A pause. A very awkward one.

"Uh…" He flushed and cleared his throat. "Let's go?"

Upon saying that, Ruka grabbed her hand and crossed the street. She didn't even get the chance to shrug him off; and before she could think about torturing him—in public—they already reached the next block safely, and he already let go of her hand.

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><p>"Now, what?"<p>

She had to admit, she'd been asking that question to herself a few times already.

Due to the motorcycle commotion a few minutes ago, they evidently lost a good ten minutes, and the train left them.

Hotaru looked around them, trying to keep herself calm. Between the two of them, she was pretty sure she should be the one who would know what to do. She only got him involved after all. Spotting the ticket booth, she muttered to him: "Wait here."

And that's exactly what he thought of doing. Ruka sighed and sat down the empty bench on the waiting area. He looked at the clock by the wall—seven o'clock—and there's only seventeen hours left for Hotaru to spend. Any delay would be frustrating for her. Turning his head to look the other way, he saw her talking to the ticket man. And he thought, no, there's no way he'd let this day be a waste.

He watched her nod at the man, took the tickets, and walked back towards him. There was a slight wind as the train on the other side arrived, and it gave more effect to the staring.

"What're you looking at?"

He blinked, flushed, and felt utterly stupid all at the same time. "Uhm…n-nothing. Uh, W-What did the ticket man say?"

Hotaru sat beside him, pulling her bag off her shoulder. "The next train's bound to leave in an hour and a half."

"What?"

"Are you deaf?" She snapped at him.

Ruka opened his mouth to snap back, but he figured, Hotaru had all the right to get pissed now. So taking a deep breath, he sighed and started to fiddle with the loose strap of his backpack—for lack of anything to do.

Five minutes passed in silence, and he was too sleepy his head hurt from the swaying and drowsy nodding as he tried his best to stay awake.

"You should stop nodding and close your eyes instead."

"Oh, erm…w-what was that?" He mumbled and turned to the girl beside him.

"Go to sleep."

At that he couldn't help but laugh. She raised an eyebrow at him, now wondering if Ruka Nogi had just lost a bolt. She waited for his stupid laughing fit to subside, and when it did, he cleared his throat and grinned at her. "Sorry about that. I, uh… I—I don't think I can sleep."

It took her a while before it she was able to absorb this. And a smirk slowly tugged on her lips. "You're scared."

He chuckled, and then stopped himself. "What?"

"You're obviously scared." Hotaru said to his now reddening face. She smugly shrugged, and then looked away. "Well you have plenty of reasons to be."

"And why would I be?"

Hotaru's smirk widened—if that's even possible—and if the Ice Queen could grin, this was probably the closest Ruka could ever get. "You're obviously scared that I'd take photos of you while you're asleep."

At that same moment he felt so stupid for even denying—this was the Hotaru Imai, of course she'd figure that out. "Fine. I-I just d-don't want giving you any chance."

She shook her head, still smirking, and looked back at him. "Get some sleep. I won't even look your way."

He felt almost as tempted as he met her eyes. But, no, there's no way he'd fall for that! _But her eyes…_ Yes, they looked so compelling any time now he'd agree. "No. I don't even think you can last a day without you camera."

"Ah." She raised her eyebrows, her eyes boring down on him. "So you're daring me."

Ruka Nogi smirked. "Pretty much."

Determined to rub it in his face—whatever there is to rub—Hotaru narrowed her eyes and opened her bag. Reaching inside it—without even looking away from Ruka's challenging but still alluring eyes—she pulled out a small, rectangular-ish casing and held it to the blond's face.

Ruka stared at the thing for a second, and then looked back to Hotaru's now piercing eyes. "What's that?"

"My camera." Hotaru replied, opened the casing and took the memory card out to keep it, and gave the expensive-looking device to Ruka.

He reluctantly took it, his brows furrowing as he tried to digest the situation, and thought of something to say. Apparently, nothing came out of his mouth.

And as early as that moment, Hotaru Imai felt victorious. "Take it, and if I do last this day without it—or without taking your pictures—"Ruka blushed at that. "—you'll be _my_ slave for a day, when we get back to the Academy."

All confidence drained off from his body; and he regretted ever saying something to the Ice Queen. When would he ever learn not to curl around her path?

"And if you can't?"

"Then you will have proved yourself right."

Mustering all the courage that's left in him—and since he appeared to have no choice at all—Ruka took the camera from her hand. "Deal."

Hotaru smirked. _Quite a gamble to make, _she thought, _but probably worth it. _—"Deal."

* * *

><p>"Hey."<p>

Ruka grunted and hugged his pillow tighter; getting annoyed with the rough shaking, he waved an arm to shrug off the person disturbing his beautiful sleep.

"Hey, wake up, you idiot."

"Ugh…w-hat?" He squinted and yawned; groping for the hem of his blanket—and finding nothing—he immediately sat up and looked around drowsily.

"I said wake up, stupid."

Ruka looked up and indeed felt stupid as Hotaru glared down at him, her arms crossed against her chest. "Oh. Sorry."

"You should know that I _can't_ hit you in public." Hotaru muttered and shot him the daggers before jerking her head towards the train behind her. "Now, let's go."

Ruka didn't bother retort at that, he was guilty as charged. Scrambling to his feet, he immediately slung his bag—a.k.a pillow—to his shoulder and jogged up to Hotaru's side, waiting for his turn to get on the train.

When she finally sat down by the window on the farthest seat at the back, she felt utterly relieved. It's about eight thirty now, and in two hours she'd reach her hometown. Mikan would've babbled endlessly about childhood memories, changes, and other things if she were here with her. But she wasn't; and the least that she could get for a chaperone was this sleepy-head blond beside her.

Looking at the guy, she thought that maybe—just maybe—this day won't be as bad as she thought it would. Well, maybe if only he'd stop getting on her nerves.

"Uhm…can I-uh…get my sleep back?"

Hotaru smirked as Ruka fought his drowsiness back, and she nodded at him. "Just try to wake up on time, or I'll leave you behind."

* * *

><p>"Are we there yet?" he asked for the nth time, sweat trickling from his forehead.<p>

"Yes."

"R-really?" The poor blonde brightened up and jogged to Hotaru's side.

"No."

Ruka Nogi he practically whined. And he had a pretty good reason to do so, since almost thirty minutes had passed since they started walking. He really didn't have any problems with it—the very long walk—but the sun is high, he's hungry, and very, very tired. Besides, she didn't even tell him where they were heading to.

Hotaru looked over her shoulder to the panting guy who's trying but failing to keep up with her pace in the uphill street of her hometown. She smirked, not bothering to conceal her amusement, and stopped to wait for him. "We don't have forever, Bunny Boy."

"Hey—!" Ruka pushed his legs further and managed to lessen the distance between them. "Where are we going?"

"What's taking you so long? It's just a walk." She watched him for a moment as he tried to catch his breath. She knew it was a little unfair to him for her not to say anything, obliging him to walk from the train station just so she could see her hometown closely.

"I-I just woke up." He tried to reason. "My head's pounding, and I-I feel…dizzy. Maybe I have—I don't know." he paused, searching for a word. "…jet lag? Or something like that."

Hotaru Imai fought the urge to snicker. She gave him the most insulting smirk she could manage and raised an eyebrow. "You just got a ride on a train. And you tell me you have _jet lag_."

"H-hey! I-I did say, 'or something like that'…"

She rolled her eyes and looked away, still smirking.

"Fine." The poor blond snapped, feeling the humiliation boring down on him. It was just a freakin' analogy; she couldn't possibly pick that up! "H-how about we take a ride from here?" he asked instead, ignoring her smirking.

Hotaru pulled her bag close and glanced at him before looking forward again, starting to walk slowly now so he could keep up. It took her awhile to answer. "I won't be able to see…everything, if we take a ride."

It didn't take him long to understand what she meant about "everything", and when he did get it, the long walk no longer felt so bothering at all. Even her insult didn't matter to him anymore. But she could've just told him, right? And not leaving him to guess.

"It's not very far from here…" Hotaru cut in his thoughts. "A few blocks east."

Ruka nodded, and looked around him. The town was peaceful, quiet, clean, and very…inviting. "Ookay. But…w-where are we going again?"

Hotaru glanced at him and was about to look away when he met her eyes. "And I thought you'd figure out." She looked away and continued walking, leaving Ruka puzzled for a few seconds before spoke again. "…to the cemetery."

"Oh." He mumbled stupidly and walked in silence beside her before speaking up again after a few minutes. "So I'm going to meet your mom…"

She was pretty sure he didn't mean it the way she thought he did. Her face suddenly felt hot; if it was because of the rising temperature, or the fact that she went home with this guy beside her, she didn't know.

Ruka, on the other hand, seemed to be quite oblivious about his…statement. And since the Ice Queen didn't reply, he thought that maybe she just needed some quiet time to think or something. He just had no idea how dense he was.

"Hurry, sleepy head." She muttered and looked back when she noticed him suddenly slowing down. "After this, I'll buy Bunny boy ice cream."

* * *

><p>AN: There! If you're reading this, you ought to have read chapters 1 to 3, and any minute now you'll see a really big blue box in the middle of the room where you're in!

..

...

oh, nothing yet?

well, maybe you should chapter4 first! lol.

Please review.. :D


	4. Chapter 4

**Home**

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><p>AN: R&R people! Flames? GO a.h.e.a.d. I really won't mind… Just let me know what you think, alright?

I hope you'll like it. :D

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><p>Chapter 4: <strong>Flirty breakfast house, Ice Cream and civilized fan girls, Dad and the Photo album<strong>

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><p>"Tell me we'll just have to climb this hill and we'd get to the cemetery."<p>

Hotaru shrugged and lead the way to the grassy hill that lead to the cemetery's low fence painted in white. Ruka followed her quietly, now feeling the weight of the atmosphere.

Staring at Hotaru's back as she walked ahead, he couldn't help but remember the vulnerable Ice Queen who took all the effort in him to make her feel better. Even now, as he looked back, he could feel the raw hurting she tried to bear alone in that forest clearing two months ago; Even now, as she stopped on top of the hill and he walked to her side, he knew it still hurt her. Maybe not as hard as it did before, but still it did.

Reaching the gates, she didn't say anything as she stared at the wide greens in front of her, quietly calculating the time she'd spend in finding her mother's grave. Moving forward, she didn't care if it would take her hours—she just needed to see it—the whole day wouldn't be complete without seeing it.

Ruka kept his mouth shut, waiting for her; and when she started to walk, he quietly followed. He walked beside her for a while; but in the fifth minute he finally walked the other way, reading the graves as he did. It was quiet, too quiet that it was almost creepy if not because of the now hurting sun.

Then he stopped on his tracks. Looking down at the carved black stone in front of him—a few meters from an old, oak tree—the wind blew as if to welcome him standing before it. Under normal circumstances he would've creeped out, but now he simply pushed his hands on his pockets and looked across the field. "Hey."

He didn't miss the hardened mask on her face as she approached; it usually meant she's under the threat of her betraying emotions. He had no idea how he knew that, but he was pretty sure he's right.

When Hotaru Imai looked at the carving she felt a slight constriction in her throat. No, there was no way she'd cry again. Then a gentle hand touched her shoulder, but she didn't need to look up to see. "I-I'll be right there...if you need me."

He stood there, under the tree as he waited, glancing at the Ice Queen once in a while. He took off his hoodie, thinking to himself, and he figured that she really isn't so bad—pretty much like everyone else, but uniquely different at the same time. Spotting a small bush of wild flowers, he put his hoodie in his bag and went to pick up a few of the blossoms.

"Hey, Bunny Boy."

The wind blew again as he approached her, feeling the Goosebumps start on the now exposed flesh of his arms. Bending to put the flowers down on the carved stone, Ruka wondered how she was. But when he stood up, and risked a glance at the Ice Queen, he noticed that she looked a lot better now. And that's good.

"Let's go."

He didn't wait for a second call before moving his feet, but not before looking back first. Upon reaching the gates, the wind blew again—harder this time—and now he really started to find it a little creepy.

* * *

><p>Ruka Nogi sighed and slouched on his seat, and lazily looked at the empty plates in front of him. They were seated by the window in a breakfast house—just finished their meal—and were quietly lost in thoughts sitting across each other. It was closer now to lunch than to breakfast, but he didn't care. Back in the Academy, he usually had his morning meals late during Saturdays like this.<p>

He stabbed on his half-eaten ice cream and looked around him. It was starting to get really crowded, but there were just enough staff to accommodate all the costumers; and though the room wasn't that big, it had a unique, comfortable ambiance that reminded him of his own bedroom.

Looking the other way, specifically in front of him, he watched the Ice Queen quietly looking through the all-glass wall of the restaurant to the busy streets outside. In the combined fluorescent and morning light, her purple orbs looked a lot enticing than he'd ever noticed. Even without telling, he knew that she was thinking about this town, and though he wanted to, he wasn't about to invade her space. This was her day, after all.

Hotaru was oblivious to this, the staring and all that. She was feeling so light-headed now, since the visit to the cemetery, to notice anything; and if she did notice something, she was too…comfortable now to care.

But hearing the tinkling of the spoon on a ceramic cup care of the obviously bored blond seated across her kind of woke her up from all the thinking. Finally looking up from her reverie, Hotaru met his blue eyes and jerked her head towards the counter across the room. "That waitress has been trying to get your attention for quite a while now."

Ruka Nogi blinked, and put the spoon of ice cream on his mouth before looking over his shoulder. Sure enough, the lady was batting her eyelashes and flashing him flirtatious looks. He gulped, and preferred to look back to the Ice Queen.

"There's another one over there." Hotaru mumbled, and propped her chin on the palm of her hand, subtly gesturing to the other side of the cozy room. "And some teenagers over there…"

"Oh." He mumbled, unconsciously looking around as if any time now one of those ladies would start throwing themselves to him. "Uhm…T-they're—k-kind of…_civilized_ around here, aren't they?"

Hotaru shrugged and looking away, and muttered under her breath, "Sometimes I wonder when you will ever get used to them."—more like to her than to him.

He blinked twice to his ice cream and looked at her again. "I-I never want to get used t-to…_them_." He replied, feeling the slight shiver running down his spine as he said the last word.

Hotaru stabbed her ice cream once and shrugged. His fan girls weren't really a great issue to her; as long as they're from the Academy—that would somehow make them subject to the Ice Queen. But those girls looking at Bunny Boy like they'd put him on a platter and stare him down raw made her feel like shoving her Baka gun to their mouth. That ought to stop them from drooling on their ice cream while staring at this blond guy with her.

Her face felt suddenly felt hot again—_to hell with the blushing, Ice Queen!_—and all she could do was to try to avoid his eyes. "Eat fast, Nogi." She said and stared at his almost-but-not-yet-finished ice cream.

"Hmm?" He mumbled and swallowed the cherry whole as he dumbly turned to look at her. "W-where are we going now?"

Waiting for her cheek's temperature to subside, she watched the frost slide down on the side of his ice cream cup. Noticing that he was almost done, Hotaru opened her purse and took some cash before pulling her bag to her shoulder and rose to her feet, practically ignoring his question.

"Hurry up and pay." She said under her breath, genuinely annoyed with all the eyes in the room—which, Ruka noticed, weren't all feminine. "I want to get out of this flirtatious breakfast house."

The blond stood up and put his cash on the table and noticed hers. "Uhm…" He muttered, his cheeks reddening. "I-I guess I'll just pay for everything…" but when she looked at him and raised an eyebrow, he kind of faltered. "Or not…?"

"I did say I'd buy you ice cream, didn't I, Bunny boy?"

He blinked, feeling the weight of her and the other girls' stare. "Oh."

"Leave it there." Hotaru muttered and glanced at the waitress across the room. "Or maybe you'd want to give it to her personally."

He didn't miss the smirk playing on her lips as she said that and left, or the genuinely scary looks those other girls have been giving him. Sparing himself further stress, he shrugged and left the cash on their table, and went after the girl he'd rather be with.

* * *

><p>"So…" He muttered as they made another turn. "Y-you and Mikan grew up here…?"<p>

"We all grew up in the Academy." Hotaru replied, her face not showing any emotion at his attempt for a conversation.

"Oh." He mumbled stupidly, frowning at himself for forgetting that one simple fact. _Of course, stupid_,he thought. They technically grew up with each other…

"This is the where Mikan and I met." She muttered as he fell dumb, then her eyebrows twitched at some passing memories. "Pretty much the place where she started to infect me with her Baka viruses."

Ruka chuckled. "You make it sound so bad." He muttered flatly.

"You say that because you actually liked her."

Silence.

Ruka felt the dizzying blood rushing up to his face for the nth time of the day; and for some reason, as he dared to glance at the Ice Queen, the blushing doubled when he didn't see any trace of humor on her face.

He sighed. It was starting to really get hot; and the silence between them didn't make it any better at all. "That was so long ago. Things—t-things are different now."

Either because of the gentleness of his voice, or because he really sounded so convincing when he said it, Hotaru glanced up to his face; which, she figured, was really not a very good move. What she said—before he went quiet—was meant to simply make him uncomfortable. She's mastered that technique—using his vulnerability when it comes to Mikan—so long ago that she didn't even think about it twice before saying it. Now she felt like she triggered something else that's altogether unfamiliar to her.

Looking away—for lack of anything better to say at that—she walked quietly and, after a few meters, stopped in front of a two-story house. Ruka stopped behind her and was about to ask, when she—without second thoughts—rang the doorbell.

Nobody responded.

"Uhm…m-maybe no one's around." Her blond chaperone muttered after a few moments.

Hotaru was now starting to feel the weight of Ruka's stare as he waited for her to decide; but a heavier feeling was pulling her from within. Feeling the gears inside her mind working double time, she looked at the gate and spotted that it was unlocked. On sheer intuition working, her hand reached out to the iron gates—only before Ruka's own hand stopped hers.

"I-I really don't think you should do that."

The Ice Queen fought the urge to smirk at his sudden panic. Meeting up his eyes while gently shrugging of his oh, so smooth and inviting hand that was holding hers, she said to him, "Really, now?"

He didn't even get the chance to stop her again, for the next moment they were both caught off guard when the gates opened and they both came face-to-face with a tall man with very, very, familiar eyes.

The man stared at Ruka—who was starting to panic now—then to the quiet lady beside him. His eyes lingered for a moment, then pooled with tears.

It all happened so fast in front of him that it all seemed to be more like in the movies, and not in reality. The next thing he knew, Hotaru had already thrown herself to the man's open arms—which was really, really, shocking because, hey, that's the Ice Queen!—and Bunny boy was completely forgotten.

It took the two a moment to notice him again, and when Ruka Nogi reached out for the man's happily outstretched hand, he felt like he had never been this nervous in his life before. Still dazed, he watched the man put his arm around Hotaru's shoulder and ushered them inside.

With the two walking ahead of him, he couldn't help but feel the slight relief in being out of the Ice Queen's eyes—because he was perfectly aware his face just a moment ago would've caused a fan girl riot if only she had her cam in her hands. But that's the least concern for him now; because in this hot but uniquely beautiful Saturday morning, he just met the Ice Queen's dad.

* * *

><p>There was an unnerving silence as the three of them sat around the dining table, Hotaru and Ruka side by side, and Hotaru's dad in front of them. The two Imai's were staring at each other, and even just a glance felt intruding to the seemingly out-of-place blond.<p>

"So…" Hotaru's dad started, glancing at the blond then turning to her daughter; and as Ruka watched him quietly, he couldn't help but notice how this girl beside her looked so much alike him. Not that the two's like a carbon copy of each other; they, too, have notable physical differences, like how Hotaru seem to be a shade paler than his dad. It's just that, looking at this man in front of him, reminded him of no one else but Hotaru Imai. "Is this guy your…"

Her dad didn't need to finish the question—she even knew he'd somehow ask about that when this moment comes. Noticing that Bunny boy was about to open his mouth, his face flushed red, and would probably start to make total a fool of himself by stuttering, she gladly beat him to the punch and calmly answered: "No. He's not."

Ruka quietly sighed, and managed a sheepish smile as he looked over the father and daughter. Risking a glance to the girl beside him, he couldn't believe seeing an unfamiliar curve playing on her lips. And it struck him enough to know that he really should give her this moment. Besides…it's not like she's his girlfriend or something, right?

"Uhm…" Ruka cleared his throat and met her father's eyes. "I, uh…I'll just sit back there while the two of you talk."

Hotaru watched him as he rose to his feet, finding genuine concern in his eyes. And when his blue orbs met hers for a second and he smiled at her, she thought that she'd never felt so thankful to him before. Now she wasn't even sure if she'd ever thanked him enough—properly, without all the hitting.

She saw her dad nod and smile at Bunny boy as he started to walk through the door towards the living room, and for some reason it felt…weird; the _giddy_, un-Hotaru-ish type of weird; the weirdness that's usually brought by the times when Bunny boy would smile at her with no conviction that she's the Ice Queen.

Ruka Nogi's been standing in the living room of the Imai's residence for two minutes now, and he still felt a little dazed at the idea of him being here. It seemed…more like a dream of some sort. Not that he'd been dreaming about the Ice Queen and her house. So maybe it's more like an illusion…something that'd end in any moment.

Well, it would seem to be more like that, since in a matter of hours, this day would end and they both would go back to their reality; the reality wherein he's Ruka Nogi with the Somatic type alice and she's the school's Ice Queen, and they'd drift back to the blackmailing and chases and the whole package; the reality wherein a day like this would merely pass for a lame day dream.

Glancing over his shoulder to the dining room, he pushed the thoughts aside and shrugged. He looked around him—to the few paintings on the beige wall, to the picture fine furniture barely crowding the room, to the stack of books on a shelf by the west wall. It wasn't flashy or expensive-looking at all; for a stranger like him, standing in this living room, felt rather…cozy.

Walking around, he stopped on one shelf where a picture frame was, with a couple of lit candles on either side it. Looking closely, he felt the slight shiver run down on him as he stared at the woman in the picture. _So this was what her mom looked like…_he thought to himself, and took a second to stare at the woman's familiar purple orbs.

He walked to the couch and sat down, feeling the soft cushion slowly lulling him to a deep rest. Almost tempted, he shook his head and shrugged, looking around again. Then something struck him, something thick and black and really intriguing. Reaching for a leather-covered album stacked under the television, he finally found something that would help him stay awake.

It was a picture album, apparently of Hotaru Imai herself. An immediate strength suddenly surged within him and all the drowsiness were down in the sink; feeling the thrill of seeing her pictures and the excitement brought about by the rare chance of revenge—though he really didn't have anything damaging in mind—he opened the album.

There were no baby pictures—to his disappointment—but a lot of the photos were either Hotaru with her mom or dad, or Hotaru and Mikan. Skimming through the pages, he would pause for a moment on one photo—like the one that's probably taken during a school program wherein Mikan and Hotaru seemed to be dancing or something—and his lips would unconsciously move up to a tiny smile.

Flipping through the pages he saw the Ice Queen as though with brand new lenses and in a different light. Though it wasn't like the pictures showed him everything, he managed to have a glimpse of the Hotaru Imai he really didn't get to know much. Not the violent, blood-drenching, impression he always had towards her when she blackmails him; but as he saw her smiling that rare, small, smile in the pictures, he felt utterly…different.

Moving to another page, he furrowed his brows and looked over his shoulder to the framed picture of Hotaru's mother; then back to the photo album.

"She does look a lot like her mom, doesn't she?"

Almost jumping in surprise Ruka felt relieved and nervous all at the same time when he looked up. Well…maybe because it would've been more like a nightmare kind of glare if it was Hotaru who caught him looking at her pictures. "Oh, uhm…y-yeah." Then he paused. "I, uh, I hope you don't mind me looking at these."

The tall man with jet black hair and brooding, dark eyes shook his head and walked closer. He put a glass of cold water on the center table of the living room and sat across the blond guy her daughter brought with her. "So you're name's Ruka."

"Uh, y-yes…sir." Ruka dumbly replied and cleared his throat before he closed the album, reaching out his hand across the center table. "Sorry if…if I wasn't able to introduce myself properly. I was just…caught off guard."

He nodded and shook the young man's hand, then gestured to the glass of water. Taking it to his hand, Ruka unconsciously looked over the man's shoulder. The older Imai trailed his sight and smirked as their eyes met, causing the blond to flush again. _Wow, he's really her dad._ He thought wildly, trying to ignore how the man was able to really make him feel uncomfortable with just one smirk, and then feel exactly the opposite the next minute.

"Hotaru went up to her room." The man said calmly, and it reminded him of the Ice Queen's older brother Subaru, but only more polite. "She passed through the door, but probably didn't bother you since you seemed to be a little…engrossed."

"Oh." Then Ruka flushed, realizing that she really had seen him looking at her album. _Oh, no._ His shoulders slumped tiredly. _Oooh, no._

"She really doesn't talk much, does she?"

Hearing that, he looked up and met the man's calm but sort of calculating eyes. "Uh, no."

"Thought so." Hotaru's dad nodded and stared at the floor for a while.

Suddenly finding the guts, probably from sheer curiosity, Ruka muttered, "I-is she…like that? I-I mean…like, even when she's little?"

There was a slight pause before he answered; and when he did, Ruka found himself dumbfounded. "I see that the two of you don't really get along much." The now blushing blond opened his mouth to talk, and then closed it again before clearing his throat and glancing away from the eyes that seemed to examine him and question him all at the same time.

But then as though to break the sudden tension, he chuckled and met the young man's blue eyes. "But to answer your question…Hotaru's pretty…different, as compared to other girls her age."

Even in the midst of a probable nervous breakdown and major blushing, Ruka Nogi couldn't help but nod in agreement. "When she first came to the Academy, I remember her straying away from everyone." His brows furrowed, thoughts flowing in. "Back then…I really didn't care. Well, maybe only until Mikan came along." Silence, then Ruka caught himself. "S-sorry..."

Hotaru's dad smiled and shook his head, and as he watched the man watching him, he wondered why he didn't long so much for his own father. "Hotaru said something about Mikan getting chicken pox."

Ruka nodded, a small smile on his lips, and started to run his finger around the lid of the glass absentmindedly. "Ice Que—I-I mean…Hotaru…" he paused, feeling weird saying the Ice Queen's name out loud. "…kind of wanted Mikan to come with her."

"Hotaru told me the story." He could feel the weight of a father's stare boring down on him as he paused. "And I want to thank you for coming with her."

They stared at each other for a moment, and the least Ruka could do was to simply smile sheepishly. "I-it's nothing."

It was quiet for a while, and all the while he fought against not saying what's on his mind. Deciding against the voice at the back of his head that was yelling something about putting his best foot forward—he clearly had no idea on which foot it was referring to—he cleared his throat and opened his mouth. "C-can I say something?"

The man nodded.

"I-I don't want to be rude, I really appreciate your kindness and all, but…" he paused, glancing down and then met the man's eyes again. "I-I honestly think you'd rather want to talk to your daughter right now—to make most of the time with her—than to choose to entertain a total stranger like me."

Hotaru's father almost chuckled in amusement. Staring at this young man in front of him, he felt like he suddenly had the son he had lost for many years when the Academy took him. "Thank you."

Ruka watched the man rise to his feet and turn towards the staircase, and he quietly sighed in relief and soft pride. He was about to open the album again when someone cleared his throat. He looked up, and found the same man halfway turned toward him and the staircase.

"One last thing…" he said and met Ruka's eyes, "try to call her by name; I really don't think she would mind."

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><p>AN: There! Thanks for reading! Please don't forget to leave a review, alright? I'm pretty sure it won't hurt so much. Hehe.

Chapter 5 is up, so… ja! :D


	5. Chapter 5

**Home**

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><p>AN: Hey, there! I'm so sorry for the delayed update. But here's chapter 5! And I hope you'll enjoy this one. R&R alright? :D

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><p>Chapter 5: <strong>Umbrella, Waiting shed confessions, the Ride <strong>_**Home**_

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><p>The sky was already purple when her dad drove them to downtown. Looking back, she couldn't believe she spent hours talking to him. She's a lot closer to her mom, as much as she could remember, but it's not like she actually hated her dad. Right now, even when the day was about to end, she was pretty surprised that she didn't feel like it got wasted at all. And she had to admit, Bunny boy had really been good. He even fell asleep on the couch while waiting for her.<p>

"I'm so glad your dad drove us."

She looked at the blond guy standing beside her; his blue, V-neck t-shirt's already wrinkled a bit, and his blue jeans weren't the exactly the expensive-looking ones, she noticed; but nonetheless, he stood out.

"I can see that." Hotaru muttered and looked at her watch, her face calm and indifferent even with the fact that for a whole day she'd actually allowed this guy to somehow see beyond that mask. "Poor sleepy head would have probably pass out again if we took the walk instead."

Ruka Nogi's brows furrowed, and he turned to the Ice Queen beside him and said, "Stop calling me 'sleepy head'. I-I just…couldn't sleep last night; that's why I've been feeling tired and all." The Ice Queen raised an eyebrow at the blond. She'd given him this look a thousand times before, but this one, he knew, kind of meant that he needed to elaborate. "I-well…" He stuttered, looking away from her eyes. "I-It's not like I was about to get a normal trip to Central town…" Hotaru shrugged, but then for some reason he suddenly looked back to her and added, "N-not that I'd prefer a normal trip to Central town for this—I, uh…"

By the way she met his eyes for a few seconds then looked away—but still kind of started to melt him down—he knew he hit a nerve; he just wished that it wasn't the nightmare-inducing kind of nerve. So when he saw a glimpse of a smirk on her lips, Ruka sighed in relief, feeling the urge to hit himself on something hard for being so stupid and cheesy and a total idiot all at the same time.

Ruka listened to his now agitated heart as he quietly watched the sun set behind the thin sheet of clouds in the horizon. "Uhm…" He started, hating that he should always be the one to break the awkward silence. "Where do you plan to go now?"

He asked that for a couple of reasons. First, was because it was already six thirty, and she only had roughly five more hours to spend, excluding the bus and train ride home; second, was because despite that fact, he still didn't want to go back.

Glancing at her watch again, she debated within herself whether they should walk, or if they should wait for the bus ride to the terminal, which, if she's not mistaken, was bound to have an interval of two and a half hours.

Pushing aside a few torture thoughts while trying to ignore the irritating voice in her head telling her that maybe the reason why she still had no decision was that she just wanted to squeeze every single moment of the day with this guy beside her, she let out a quiet sigh and met this guy's eyes. "I'm hungry."

Either because he couldn't exactly find words to say at that, or because she really looked uniquely…_cute_ as she spoke, or maybe both, Ruka found himself smiling at her—though that would've probably been so dangerous to do. "Let's go buy you dinner."

* * *

><p>7:30 P.M.<p>

It was now dark as Hotaru stepped out of the restaurant. Looking around her, a chilly breeze blew, and a cold shiver ran down her spine. Glancing at her watch—for the nth time now since her dad drove them downtown—her heart skipped a beat. Though she wasn't that sure with the bus schedule, she had this sinking feeling that they just missed the earliest possible ride to the terminal, all because of a stupid dinner.

The door chime broke her reverie when Ruka came out of the restaurant. Looking over her shoulder to look at him blankly, he smiled and said: "That was nice."

She knew he only meant dinner, but for some reason she couldn't help but notice how he somehow managed to summarize their day by saying that. _Well…_she thought to herself as she looked away._ Maybe it wasn't a stupid dinner after all._

Ruka was oblivious to this, however. Stepping up to her side, he looked up at the sky and furrowed his brows at what he saw—or rather, what he didn't. "No stars?"

Following his line of sight, Hotaru managed to see the dark, heavy-looking clouds that seemed to be the sky itself at one look. A very cold and strong wind blew, and as if on cue, raindrops started to fall on the pavement, sounding like small pebbles on the roof, gaining momentum.

And they just stood there, the two of them, staring, for neither of them wanted to get wet in this obviously heavy, freezing, rain.

"Uhm…" Ruka mumbled, eyes on the now thickening curtain of rain, "You did happen to bring an umbrella, did you?"

When Hotaru shook her head, Ruka let out a helpless sigh. Generally, nobody would want to get soaked, especially when it's not part of the day's plan or something like that. But personally, he really didn't mind getting wet. He didn't have plenty of childhood memories of playing in the rain, but the few that he had really were fun. But he was pretty sure the Ice Queen wasn't considering the idea of playing in the rain like kids—with him—so he guessed that maybe plan A won't do…

Looking around him, he clutched his backpack's strap on his shoulder and forced himself to think. Fast—or they'd definitely miss their ride.

Hotaru let out a quiet sigh and closed her eyes for a moment; to think, probably, about plenty of things at the same time.

Even in this cold, rainy, very annoying situation, she felt the warmth of her own hometown, and ending this day—going back to that walled institution—felt utterly…heavy. But it's not like she's alone now, that anytime she'd get tempted to take the bus or a taxi so she could go back to her house, her real home. And that's probably what's been taking its toll on her, the fact that she had Bunny boy with her.

The words of the director rang in her mind, _"…a reminder—that you have plenty of reasons to come back here."_, and it didn't make her feel any better.

"Hey." His voice cut in her thoughts, and when she turned to him, he was already handing his backpack to her. "Wait here, alright?"

She didn't get the chance to speak. The next thing she knew, Ruka was off to who knows where, and was probably going to be drenched in just a few minutes.

_And so my chaperone left me._

But there was a slight relief, however, now that she's alone. Feeling a lot less like usual self, crossed her arms against her chest, Ruka's bag hooked safely on her forearms. She didn't want to think at all. She didn't even want to care about this heavy rain, or to where Bunny boy hopped to. Come to think of it, Ruka Nogi was the not the least familiar with the place. What if he'd get lost?

But panic dissolved as soon as it came. _Oh, well. Screw him._

* * *

><p>"Here."<p>

Hotaru Imai blinked twice before taking the umbrella from Ruka's hands. He was panting, and by the dampness on his face that didn't look so much like the rain's fault, he probably hurried back to her.

She was about to start counting for the eighteenth minute when Ruka came in running for the restaurant's canopy. He was wet, alright, but surprisingly not all over. His blue shirt looked a couple of shades darker by his shoulders, but all other parts kind of looked dry; the hems of his pants, however, were soaked; his hair that usually looked neatly combed now looked indeed like it got rained and breezed and ruffled. A few strands stuck on his forehead, but when he ran his hands through it, she stared.

"You bought an umbrella." Hotaru said flatly to him, who was pretty busy trying to dry himself but to no avail.

He glanced at her, his cheeks a little flushed because of the chilly breeze. "Uh…yes."

"You went all the way to who knows where—in this rain—just to buy an umbrella."

Ruka paused, pretty much sure that that's exactly what he just did. He opened his mouth to speak, then closed it again as he weighed his words. When he spoke, he sounded like a little boy that's got so much explaining to do. "Uhm…Y-yeah. A-actually, I bought that from a store a few blocks from here. A-and, uhm…" he watched her watching him stoically and it hit him, well he guessed it did. "Oh, uh, I-I thought about buying two. But…" he glanced away then back to her eyes. "…that's the only one that's left. Sorry."

_Sorry?_ She didn't mind the sharing, she just couldn't believe he did.

He watched her stare at him for a while, and in those few moments, he kind of felt a little colder.

Then Hotaru shrugged, and handed him back the umbrella. "Make sure you get rid of those wet clothes…"

Ruka was about to say something very nice that started out like, "Uhm…", but he just closed his mouth, noticing how she waited patiently and apparently clear of insults and verbal jabs she usually would've said already. Opening the umbrella, he awkwardly put a light hand on her back—barely touching, but hardly leaving—and started walking.

She was clutching his bag in her arms, her own backpack dangling on her shoulder, as Ruka held the umbrella for both of them. With the cold wind blowing the rain towards them, Hotaru fought the urge to shudder. She was perfectly aware of his gentle hand just below the back of her neck, and their proximity that their skins would sometimes touch. His skin felt cold, and whenever it touched hers was static. She just had no idea how that fact made him feel self-conscious. They walked without talking; and though they kind of radiated natural heat to each other, they seemed to be more like robots—a lot more mechanical as each tried to avoid touching the other.

Every minute of it dragged, but that doesn't mean that neither of them liked it. However, when Ruka spotted the waiting shed by the bus stop, he couldn't help but feel relieved—especially when he saw the bus arrive and stop just right there.

Hotaru saw it, too. There was absolutely no one waiting in the shed, but they were still a few yards away. With a two-inch water flooding the pavement, the umbrella would surely prove to be useless if they'd both start running for the bus.

Ruka didn't miss the hesitation in her eyes; and it kind of scared him.

Upon reaching the dry safety offered by the waiting shed, Ruka found himself staring at the wet, foggy, tracks of the bus that was already three blocks away from them. He folded the umbrella neatly and put it aside; then pulling off a handkerchief from his jeans, he got rid of as much dampness as he could manage.

He looked again at the direction where the bus went, and then looked over his shoulder to the Ice Queen. She was quietly fiddling with her bag, sitting on the built-in chair of the shed and was looking straight; but her eyes focused on something else that's obviously not exactly what she was seeing.

"Are you alright?" The last time he'd ask her this, she beautifully answered him like he was an idiot.

Now she didn't say anything; but she looked up to the shed's ceiling, suddenly preoccupied by… Ruka looked up and furrowed his brows …a beetle? And by the way she stared at it, he knew she was already thinking about something else. He had no idea how he could possibly know that, for her face didn't show the least signs.

His heart was beating hard, and there was a strange chill on the back of his neck that wasn't exactly brought by the cold wind. Standing there, watching her watch the, uh, beetle, for a whole minute, his heart pounded faster—harder. Thoughts were surging in his head—possibilities, conclusions, all mixed up with absurdities. Though every single one of them seemed likely to be true, he didn't accept even one—or at least he tried to ignore them all—as he walked up to the Ice Queen.

"Hey." He tried again, not looking away from her as he sat beside her. "We just missed the bus."

She met his eyes then looked away again. "Then I guess we should just wait for the next one."

Ruka paused. "Tell me…d-don't you want to go back?"

It hit her like the splash of the cold rain and snow combined. She had no idea how a lot disturbing it sounded than when she was just thinking about it.

"If you're asking me if I want to stay, then the answer is yes."

The blond, young man propped his elbows on his knees and watched the beetle fly down to the floor a couple of feet in front of them. Hotaru was watching it, too; but with seemingly more focused and calculating eyes. As if she expected the beetle to transform into some robot of some sort.

"But I'm asking you if you don't want to go back." He muttered.

Hotaru let out the breath she didn't know she'd been holding back, and shook her head, saying, "I don't know."

He wasn't sure if this was the answer he wanted to hear. Of course he understood how she felt about all these, especially about going back. But to hear her doubts; her second thoughts… The mere thought of him going back without her was…well, scary.

Ruka Nogi gulped and shook his head. Checking himself, he was surprised how sure he was that he wanted the Ice Queen to go back to the Academy with him. But then he knew how she wanted to stay—regardless whether she wanted to go back, too, or not—and though convincing her to come with him would be the right thing to do, it would probably be a little selfish since that's _exactly_ what _he wanted._

But then despite these raging concerns already knocking the wits out of his blond head, there was another tiny thing he was trying to ignore—what if it was him? What if since it was _just _him who's with her right now, she could think about not going back?

Absurd, yes, he knew that. But for some reason the thought didn't leave him alone. Hypothetically putting himself outside the situation and trying to look into it instead, he could see how she might not doubt her decisions if someone else closer to family would have been her chaperone instead of him. _Of course, _he thought, _if it was her best friend, why would she consider staying here, when she would know her best friend couldn't stay with her?_

But he wasn't _the _best friend; they didn't have that brand of relationship. Lightening the point, they were friends, fine—but was that even enough?

He gulped; his heart just wouldn't calm down. The wind blew hard, the rain coming with it drizzling them slightly even under this shed; but the cold didn't even pass the chill he'd been feeling already, and taking in a good amount of air, he let it out in a sudden gush and muttered to her, his eyes on the wet, tiled floor of the waiting shed. "I-if it was Mikan…with you now, and not me…" he paused, gulping back weakness constricting in his throat; he had no idea if she was even listening to him, but by the way she seemed to stiffen, he knew she could at least hear him. "…would you even doubt about going back to the Academy?"

This one struck her in a very different way. Firstly, she didn't even think about _him_ being such a problem about her dilemma. Sure, she did consider his presence to be quite…distracting, but that didn't exactly made her want to take him off the picture altogether. Secondly, it struck her as one of the most absurd ideas he'd ever thrown at her.

Ruka braced himself for her reply, because though he was aware that she might confirm his assumption, or not, he was pretty convinced that she would. But then, to his surprise, she gave him the best answer she could manage.

"_That _is entirely stupid."

Opening his mouth to at least say something, he closed it again when he couldn't find his voice. He knew how absurd the idea was, and she was right; but he just couldn't believe how embarrassing it sounded when she said it.

Hotaru sighed quietly, glancing at him and looking away again before she spoke. "This is not about anybody else, Bunny boy; and if it _is,_ then it wouldn't be exactly about you."

Blood rushed up to his face, his heart racing rapidly he could almost feel it in his throat. "Th-then at least you should know…" He mumbled, now dizzy with the blushing, "that I really don't want you leaving me."

Silence. Hotaru Imai looked at the gorgeous, blond guy beside her, who really looked like he was about to pass out, and was still trying his best not to look at her. She raised an eyebrow at him and, despite herself, she smirked. "Is that a tear I'm seeing, Bunny boy?"

Ruka rolled his eyes, partly hurt for getting ignored but also relieved that she did. A hand unconsciously went up to his face as if to check. No, there were no tears, really. Silence again, and just when he thought he was about to break it again, she beat him to the punch.

"The Academy's my home, too." Hotaru said; her yes on the beetle again as though she was speaking to it, too. "I can't just…not go back."

For the first time since he made a total fool of himself when he started this conversation, Ruka looked at her, quite surprised and amused with her rare participation.

"If it was Mikan…" She continued, seemingly oblivious to the fact that she was really doing a long speech and looked like she might have been just plainly verbalizing her thoughts, "it would've been a bit more difficult, but the answer would still be the same." Then for some reason he couldn't quite fathom, her lips tugged into a familiar curve. "It's not like she's the only reason why I would want to go back."

It was more than enough, actually, to make his heart calm down; but when he did manage to breathe in and out and check on the poor, muscle inside his chest, he was surprised when it was no longer knocking itself on his ribcage. Ignoring her last sentence, Ruka blinked and quietly worked on trying to stop the blood rushing up to his face, saving the rotten tomatoes that wouldn't even pass for a half of his blushing.

"Besides…." She added, lightly though her eyebrows twitched into a slight furrow. "I don't think the blackmail business is good around here." Breathing in, he thought that maybe he should look away from those eyes, 'cause as far as distracting goes, they're number 1. She looked away, thankfully, as if to make his life easier; but then her lips now turned up on a full assaulting smirk now. "And your life just might get a little boring without me."

_Can I faint now?_ Ruka Nogi thought to himself as he relaxed his shoulders. He should really say something, he was debating within him, but with all that's she'd said and got shoved in his mind all at the same time while he was palpitating and blushing, he simply couldn't bring himself for a word.

He slouched on his seat, and tiredly collected himself. Inhaling as much air as he could, he sighed and managed a weak smile of relief when he surprised himself by turning back to the Ice Queen. "Thank you."

She stared back, looking into those blue eyes that had just—technically—_begged _her not to leave him. Come to think of it, he didn't exactly asked her to go back to the Academy with him… Oh well, she should stop thinking about that now; or she'd be getting the ball rolling again. Shrugging, she broke the tension as she casually nodded towards his damp shirt. "You should really get rid of those."

Ruka blinked, and then took a couple of seconds before he looked down at himself. "Oh. Uh…I'll be fine. I guess."

Not bothering to insist, the Ice Queen grabbed his bag from the other seat and opened it. He was about to protest and start babbling about privacy or something, when she pulled out his thick hoodie from his bag and shoved it to him. "Then wear that."

Despite her blunt rudeness, Ruka Nogi was pretty sure the Ice Queen's trying to show concern—in her own, uncanny way. He was smiling while he slipped his hoodie on, and Hotaru pretended not to see it—because deep down, she felt like smiling too. But there's no way she'd ever going to admit that.

"Aren't you cold?"

She shook her head, eyes focused on the beetle that now flew back to the shed's ceiling. "No."

"Okay." Ruka replied, zipping his hoodie halfway up to his chest. It was quiet for a good five minutes; the rain still didn't stop, and the wind was really getting into his bones now. "So…" He started again, knowing that his cheeks probably were all red with the blushing. "We'll just wait for the bus to arrive, right? And we'll go back?"

Either the way he flatly said it—which she noticed, didn't sound like a question at all—or the fact that he sounded more like a confused child, Hotaru smirked.

"Yes." She muttered, more like to her than to him. "Then we'll go back."

* * *

><p>9:45 P.M<p>

The bus ride to the terminal arrived exactly on time. The heavy rain had already turned into a drizzle, but the wind was harsher. Zipping up her hoodie, Hotaru Imai looked around her for the last second, Ruka patiently waiting by the bus door.

_No more thoughts now, _she thought to herself, clutching her bag on her shoulder and turning her heels to go._ I'm going home._

Surprisingly though, when she turned for the bus door and he was standing there quietly waiting for her, she'd never felt so sure where she belonged.

Ruka had this warm, polite, smile as he waited for the Ice Queen to get on the bus. Not that he was afraid she'd suddenly run or something…well, maybe yes…but—oh, well.

Nobody said a word in the whole twenty minutes of the bus ride. Hotaru was sitting by the window, probably lost in thoughts as she watched her hometown through the curtain of fog and rain; and Ruka wasn't about to ruin her peace, especially now that he felt twice as tired as he felt when they were hiking the town this morning.

When they reached the terminal, the train had just arrived; and Hotaru simply raised an eyebrow when he volunteered to buy the tickets. It was still raining outside, and the steel benches where she sat this morning were just too cold to sit on right now. So she stood near him while he bought the tickets, quietly enjoying the heat radiating from him.

"Come on." He said and turned to her, that smile still on; and when she just stood there, staring, he kind of chuckled nervously and put a light hand on her shoulder and ushered her to the train. "It's really getting cold out here."

Luckily, the train had a heater; that means he wouldn't have to deal with the problem of the Ice Queen shivering to death for the whole two-hour ride.

There were only few people on the train, and almost all of them were sleeping, or trying to get to sleep. Looking over to the girl beside him, he said. "You better get some sleep."

"I'm not tired."

He rolled his eyes and then he froze when she looked at him from the window. Opening his mouth to say something, Hotaru cut him off. "I still wasn't able to thank you."

And _that_… simply caught him off-guard. His mouth still gaping, he managed to close it but not look away from her.

Misunderstanding this as what she called 'playing innocent', she shrugged, her brows slightly furrowed. "First for…" She muttered, looking down on her pale hands now. "For what you did two months ago." Even in a few seconds of pausing, thoughts flooded on her; how he stayed with her in the forest, taking everything in him to make her feel better; how he proved himself for being the most stubborn guy he'd ever met. Looking back to his eyes—though he kind of preferred not looking at her purple orbs in moments like this—she mumbled, "And for today."

Moments like this would totally kill him with a heart attack, but now just feels like a thousand fold worse when it's the Ice Queen he's talking to.

"Y-you're welcome." He managed to choke out. "I-I really can't help it…" he faltered, her eyes boring down on him. "…w-when it's you."

She was pretty sure about what she just heard, and it kind of gotten confirmed by the dizzying effect of the blood rushing up to her face. Ruka blinked, and as usual, he blushed harder than her upon realizing what he just said. But before he could even make the situation worse, Hotaru's lips moved up to an unfamiliar curve, and then she looked away back to the window.

As if on cue, the train blew its horn and steam hissed in the rain. Ruka, not the one quick on miracles of some sort, found himself staring at her for a few seconds before looking away himself, thinking that his mind might have just been playing tricks on him. She didn't just smile at him, did she?

A pause.

Nah. Impossible.

Closing his eyes, he sighed and drifted off to sleep.

* * *

><p>AN: Phew! It's done, and...well, I thought I was going to be able to finish the story in five chapters. Oh, well, Chapter 6 is up guys! Please review. :]


	6. Chapter 6

**Home**

* * *

><p>AN: Oh, yes, this is the final chapter. The last one, ladies and gentlemen. And this one...hear this, is one of my personal favorites. It took me a hard time figuring out how to end the story, and all I could wish for is that I hope you folks would like it! xD

Ok, then, here it is!

P.S.

THanks for even bothering, Enjoy! :D

* * *

><p>Chapter 6: <strong>Another Deal, the Beetle, and His Pictures <strong>

* * *

><p>"Oh, no." Ruka Nogi muttered to himself, feeling the chilly breeze as if it's nothing to the cold shiver running down his spine. "Oooh, no."<p>

"Stop it, Nogi, or I'll hit you."

Looking around them, Ruka did have the right to panic. It was 12:05, and they were very, very, late. The Academy's men-in-black would've flagged red alert by now, and they're officially fugitives. Worse, the whole school might just have their hottest rumor of the summer—Bunny boy and Ice Queen just eloped.

Hotaru glanced at her watch for the third time now since they arrived, and couldn't help but hiss under her breath. Just when she'd been sure of her plans, a complication would occur. How cooperative could fate get?

"Uhm…", the blond beside her mumbled, "d-do you really think they'd already abandoned us?"

Finally looking up to him, she flashed her sharpest daggers and stared him down. "I honestly don't think so. Now shut up, Bunny boy."

Ruka was about to open his mouth to retort—as much as she's been really close to him though it was just one whole day, she still never fails to get into his nerves—when a beetle flew right in front of them.

"Uh…" he muttered under his breath after a few seconds of staring, unconsciously leaning closer to her ear as they both stared at the beetle in front of them. "Is that…the same one we've—?"

The Ice Queen practically glared at the beetle. She knew it. She just knew it!

Stealthily stepping forward while pulling out a strange-looking device to her hand, the Ice Queen attacked the beetle. Yes, she attacked the poor beetle quietly 'resting' on the bush in front of them. Zapping an electromagnet on the beetle's 'horns', it writhed once and fell on her palm. Ruka was about to yell a really big 'no', and run for the poor beetle's life when Hotaru held the it to his face, and his knees almost buckled when he saw that it had a two-inch diameter lens instead of giant beetle horns. And he'd seen lots of lenses his entire life not to recognize this one.

"You see that?" Hotaru said, still holding the beetle to Ruka's flustered face. "The same one we've been seeing the whole day."

He nodded, his disconcerted face turning to flushed anger. "Th-that's a camera!"

Indeed it was. As clear as day, Hotaru knew what it was. But, well, she couldn't blame him if that's how he'd react toward seeing one. She nodded, and then examined the unmoving, wireless, clever, device on her palm. She knew it. How could she have even doubted it in the first place?

"A-and that's been following us!" Ruka pointed out, in panic again, and his face was flushed. And by the look of it, Hotaru had a hunch that he wasn't just worried about the beetle following them all day, but more about the beetle televising _everything_ that's happened _all day._

"I really have the urge to hit you now." She muttered, and when he met her calm but fierce eyes, his shoulders dropped helplessly, his eyes looked tired and kind of pleading.

"Tell me that's not a camera."

She raised an eyebrow. "It is a camera."

His face fell, and then suddenly went hard as he paused. "And that's not yours, I suppose?"

She raised another eyebrow at him, hearing something else in his voice. "Don't even think about it, Bunny boy."

Ruka stared at her, challenging and simply trying to be brave, but knowing that she was telling the truth—though she really didn't say anything yet but stare at him—he shrugged, convinced that it wasn't _her _camera. Besides, it wasn't exactly about the issue of whose camera it was; it's more about the fact that _that_ beetle sort of seen _everything_ that's happened today—things that he really thought wasn't for anybody else to know.

It was quiet again, and glancing down to his watch, he sighed again and turned to the Ice Queen who was impossibly calm beside him. "And h-how are we supposed to get to the Academy again?"

Hotaru looked at him and held the beetle up to his face again that he had to lean back slightly. "This, Nogi, is a tracking device—with a built-in GPS and high-quality camera that can zoom ten times that of a normal digi-cam, a HD video recorder, wireless and Bluetooth installed." She paused, and then wiggled the beetle in front of him as if taunting a poor child. "I happened to have invented it." Ruka frowned and opened his mouth to…well, yell, maybe, or anything; but she cut him off again. "It never gets lost, that's why it's been able to follow us until we got back here. I know it's annoying, and as much as you…_love _your animals, you'd want to destroy this one. But we'll get back to the Academy because of this."

A couple of seconds passed, and with Hotaru's eyes boring down on him, Ruka opened his mouth to speak. "I-I d-don't get it…H-how is that going to—?"

Finding that she couldn't help it, Hotaru rolled her eyes. "I did say it's a tracking device. And whatever reason they used this…for us, then I'm pretty sure they'd use it _now_ to try to find us."

He blinked, and then it finally hit him. "Oh."

Hotaru tilted her head slightly, her eyes narrowing insultingly at him before looking away. "Finally."

Ruka rolled his eyes and looked away, ignoring the Ice Queen's sneering. _Note to self_, he thought as he looked at the now clearing night sky above them; _don't act dumb, 'cause you're most definitely not._

It was dark, and with just the two of them standing in the side walk, the cold penetrated their clothes harder. And if the men-in-black won't come and find them, they'd definitely freeze; Well, unless they'd start to hold onto each other…literally.

Hotaru was fiddling with the beetle, pretty much engrossed by it, and seemed amazed and scornful at her own invention all at the same time. He was about to say something when yellow light blinded him. She looked up too, and found herself wincing when the headlights didn't shut off. It was the Academy's sleek, black, car. Not the limousine, to Ruka's disappointment, but it was—no doubt—their ride home.

Despite herself, Hotaru smirked and elbowed the guy beside her, who was pretty close to her, she noticed, when she hit him in the gut playfully. "Let's go, Bunny boy."

Feeling excited and tired and happy and all the emotions all at the same time, Ruka simply shook his head and smiled, following the Ice Queen to the car.

"So sorry we're late." He said to the men who were practically glaring at them as they approached.

Sitting close to each other, sleep started to claim its triumph. A good five minutes passed since they started to head back, and suppressing a yawn, Ruka propped his elbow on the door handle and rested his head on his fist. It was quiet, warm, and he was tired. He knew the ride wouldn't take long, but his lids were dropping already. But then when he thought he was about to pass out, he felt a light head bump on his arm and onto his shoulder.

Looking over, he froze, flushed, and panicked all at the same instant. Then it all left him as quickly as they came when he suddenly calmed down, a ghost of smile dancing on his face. Now he really shouldn't sleep, he figured, or at least he shouldn't just move his shoulder away from her head—the Ice Queen's sleeping.

* * *

><p>12:30 A.M.<p>

Ruka yawned for the third time, no longer caring if she would even mind. Walking beside her, the Academy seemed to breathe quietly, as if welcoming them back. It was dark, no longer evening, he noticed, but dawn was still far away. He could hear scattered greetings from his nocturnal animal friends in the woods near them, and he quietly smiled and greeted them back in his mind.

They were making the last turn for the High School department when he noticed her kind of frowning to herself—not much with the expression, he noticed, but her eyes looked like she'd just lost a hundred dollar bet.

_Oh, no. _he almost stopped on his tracks. _The bet!_

Ruka Nogi gulped, bravely trying to push away all the hideous things he'd just imagined the Ice Queen would be making him do if she'd remember their bet about her camera and taking his pictures. So, desperate for anything, he cleared his throat and turned to her. "Uh, are you alright?"

Lame, yes, but as far as desperate goes, that's the best he could do without sounding nervous at all.

Her face seemed to soften a bit when she glanced at him before looking straight ahead of her. "I just figured…" She paused, then there came that slight frown on her eyes again, "When I zapped that beetle invention, I was pretty sure I kind of…disabled it."

Ruka blinked, trying to catch up. "Ookay. So…" He muttered, looking up only when they reached the high school dorm's entrance. "…h-how then were those guys able to trace us?"

Hotaru shrugged, she really hated it when she couldn't just grasp the answer. She knew it was near them somewhere…or attached somewhere…or to someone… She blinked, and looking around her, she was slightly distracted by that smile on his face when they both entered the dorm. The bright light made her wince a little, but her eyes adjusted in a few moments, as well as her body that's already started to get warmer thanks to the building's heater.

She stopped by the staircase—the spot that actually divides the dormitory to girls' and boys'—and faced him completely. Ruka yawned again, and as she stared at him, he reminded her of a really, really, cute yellow chick. It took him awhile to notice the staring, and when he did, he blinked and involuntarily flushed again.

"I want to try something." Hotaru cut him off.

Either the manner in which she said it, or the fierce look on her face when she did, Ruka gulped, his heart beating furiously despite all the exhaustion from beating this way all day. "Wh-what—?" He started, and then faltered when the Ice Queen's pale, soft, and now warm hands touched his face.

"Don't move." She whispered, her hand pulling his face down gently, closer to her.

Ruka gulped back the erupting hysterics and waited, though for what, he had no idea. _If she's going to kill me, _he thought wildly, desperately, _she should do it now. _But then deep down, he was thinking of something else. That maybe the Ice Queen was going to—well, kiss him maybe?

He opened his mouth to say something, then found himself closing it again when her hand gently moved to the side of his head; and it felt like it was groping for something, if not for the exquisite calm and soothing feeling it had against his skin. Suddenly he felt the hand waver, and just when he thought she would let him go, her other hand went up too.

Now she was cupping his face in her hands, and if he was already blushing, he felt like anytime now he'd explode like an oversized thermometer!

Both hands gently moved on his face, touching, gently moving here and there, as if groping for something. He closed his eyes when one hand gently combed through his hair; he just couldn't bear it! A couple of seconds passed, and when both of her hands suddenly stopped, he surprised himself with the intensity of how he snapped his eyes open to stare at her.

Hotaru was holding a piece of metal—a circular thing that looked more like a watch's battery—dangling it in front of him like candy to a child. "See this?"

He blinked and then shook his head, shrugging off the clouds she'd caused in his head in that brief moment. "Wh-what's that?"

"The tracking device." She replied stoically while staring at the thing, and then she smirked when Ruka's mood heated up again. "The second one, I guess."

"S-so—I-I really had that behind my ear?"

"No." She said and gave it to him for a look. He took it and practically glared at it as she spoke. "It's somewhere on the side of your head; concealed by your hair."

He gaped at her, absolutely nothing to say at that. When she opened her palm, he stared at it and put the metal thing on her hand. Hotaru stared at it for a moment, and then her hand suddenly moved with a master's efficiency Ruka's eyes couldn't follow. The next thing he knew, she was holding it back to him. "I've disabled it." She said, her face perfectly unreadable now. "Keep it."

He was about to scoff and say something really polite during an erupting bickering like this, but he stopped himself, noting the faint color on her cheeks. Come to think of it, that almost-microscopic, metal thinks she's holding out kind of proved itself to be special; or at least a reminder of something—or someone—special.

Shrugging, Ruka took it, and for some other reason smiled at the metal thing on his hand. "Thanks for today."

She raised an eyebrow, her face still indifferent. "I didn't do anything."

He waved a hand at her and his smiled kind of became a little more sheepish than usual. Looking at her pale but warm face, her calm but now unreadable purple eyes, he thought that he could never be able to look at her the same way he did before.

"If you don't have anything more to say, I'll go now."

That was enough to make him panic again, and clearing his throat, he nodded. She turned her heels and held on the railings as she started to go up the steps. He was staring at her back while she went up the stairs, only self-conscious of his doing when he got pushed back to reality as he yawned again.

That's when he remembered it again—to his disappointment.

"W-wait!"

He really didn't need to shout, she thought. Turning back to him, she found him going up the steps to her. The poor blond practically inhaled and exhaled before finally facing her as if he was going to be executed or something. "Y-you forgot this."

Looking at the rectangular-ish thing in his hand, Hotaru raised her eyebrows. Wow. She actually forgot all about that. Taking it to her hand, something else crucial hit her. "Ah." She smirked, and by the way Bunny boy shrugged and rolled his eyes helplessly, she knew that he knew perfectly what she was meaning to say. "So I guess I won."

"Yeah, yeah." Ruka shoved his hand on his pocket and glared at the carpet. "You lasted a day without taking my pictures, alright."

"And?"

He sighed, looking back to her face tiredly. "And I'll be your slave…"

"Good." Hotaru muttered, putting her camera away to her bag. "You'll start tomorrow."

Ruka shrugged, obviously putting himself in the hands of fate—which didn't make him feel any confident at all because all that's fate been doing is putting him in the Ice Queen's hands instead. "Like I have a choice…" He muttered under his breath. But deep down he wished that when she said 'tomorrow', she meant Monday—since it's already the dawn of Sunday, and he perfectly knew he wouldn't be able to see the sun in the sky this day for he'd gladly pass out on his bed the moment he'd get to it.

Hotaru looked at him for a moment, noting the now dark circles under his tired but still beautiful blue eyes. His hair was dry now, and even by simply looking at its natural messiness, she kind of felt like wanting to run her fingers through them again. "I'll go now." She muttered, half-heartedly turning her heels to proceed upstairs.

She was already on top of the staircase when she heard him again.

"Y-Your dad said that I...that I should call you by your name."

The Ice Queen blinked, and then looked down at the blond guy looking up to her from the bottom of the stairs. Her heart was obviously trying to get her attention by beating furiously fast, but she ignored it as she raised an eyebrow at the guy, daring him to elaborate.

Ruka inhaled sharply at the sight of her calm face, and surprising himself for not stuttering so much, he managed a weak smile. "Can I call you H-Hotaru?"

A cold shiver ran down his spine as he squinted against the bright light of the chandelier, his tired eyes protesting now for straining to look at the Ice Queen, who was still quietly staring him down from the top of the stairs. So when she spoke, all the exhaustion seemed to go down the drain in that same instant.

"Then I get to call you Ruka."

Despite the thundering sound of his pulse against his temples, and the coldness behind his neck, Ruka managed to smile. "Deal."

* * *

><p><strong> <strong><em>Epilogue<em>** **

Hotaru Imai flicked the light switch on her desk on. Sighing, she sat down on her work desk and thought about the whole day. Her room was dark except for the fluorescent lamp she just turned on. It was quiet—too quiet, actually—and in normal nights she would've been able to accomplish lots of things at this hour.

But it wasn't a _normal _night. It wasn't even_ night_ already; it's near dawn. And her whole day wasn't the one she could ever call normal—noting the fact that she didn't use her Baka Gun in full twenty-four hours and more. But it was more than that, actually. And she didn't bypass all those other reasons. Number one was Bunny boy—Oh…_Ruka_.

Hating that she couldn't help it, her lips tugged into a small smile. But knowing better than getting herself started with the thinking—which, she knew, would last for hours if she wouldn't stop herself—she opened her bag and pulled out the uncanny beetle.

Sitting on the chair, she put the deactivated device at the center of her workspace, the lamp illuminating it perfectly. Even with tired eyes, she could make out the connections and tiny details the device had.

If her assumptions had been correct, and the Academy's engineers didn't change her original prototype of this invention, then she would certainly find it somewhere… Her hands moved to work on the beetle, groping and pulling and analyzing, then stopped on one section…_here._

She smirked, her spirits perking up. Pulling up the familiar black, thin, chip into the light, Hotaru couldn't help but chuckle in triumph.

_Oh, well, Bunny boy._ She thought, reassembling the beetle without the tiny chip she just found, _my conscience is clear._

She rose up to her feet and took her camera out from her bag almost too excitedly, and then accurately slipped the tiny chip—which turned out to be a memory card—on its side and turned the camera on. Her knees almost buckling, the Ice Queen couldn't help but bite her lip in childish guilt and amusement as she flicked through the photos taken and stored by the beetle.

_Their train ride; Ruka sleeping in the terminal while they waited; their little 'hike' around her hometown; the two of them looking down at her mother's grave; him and her father talking in the living room—_which, she had to admit, kind of surprised her—_their 'stupid' dinner; the two of them walking in the rain._

It wasn't just Bunny boy; it was the two of them—a _full_ documentation. And upon looking at the high quality, perfectly zoomed, photos, Hotaru Imai patted herself in her mind for being so good.

Turning off the camera and putting it safely aside, she couldn't get rid of all that's she'd just seen on the photos. She usually wasn't the one with the sentimental hang-ups, but this one's quite different than anything she'd ever experienced. So it ought to be an exception, all she's been feeling and acting.

She was definitely going to sleep now, but not before a hot bath, of course. That heavy rain sure wasn't a joke; she hated getting sick. Specifically, she hated feeling weak. Then maybe she'd think about things again, when she'd finally reach the comfort of her queen sized bed.

But she certainly didn't need to pray that the happenings of that day would come flooding back to her as if happening again, unlike how love songs usually goes; because that beetle sure did the job for her.

The video would be watched later when she'd wake up, she decided, knowing that it would take most of her time than anything else. The photos…well, they won't be for sale, of course. Ruka looked exceptionally gorgeous that day in his old school shirt and jeans; Hotaru thought that _that_ ought to remain as something exclusive.

She smirked at that. _Exclusive…_

* * *

><p>~owari~<p>

* * *

><p>AN: Sniff! I can't believe I pulled it off! lol.

This is probably the longest fanfiction I've ever written-including the ones I didn't upload here in -and I have to say, I'm proud of it.

How about you? If you're reading this one, you might've read the whole story! lol. What do you think? Too much? Flames? Go ahead!

Click the review button below and fire away!

P.S.

THanks to all those who stayed tuned for the chapters, and for those who reviewed. Thanks! :D


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